life with littles

1. Let's sew together

2. Playful

3. Unplugged Play (for mom)

I've been thinking a lot about how I can improve my parenting skills. It may seem funny to say that I feel like I am melting in the summer heat (because it's SO much hotter so many other places)....but I find that we are inside more and that we tend to gravitate towards "shows" watching (as my kids call it).

When I was a kid I had creativity spewing out of my ears. I was always making and creating things. I loved getting the magazine Hearth Song, and would long for chances to ask for presents from there. Once I got a pack of colored bees wax, and I would spend HOURS making figures. Mostly animals. I also had a knack for sewing...something my mom instill in me (she is a fantastic sewer).

I look at Katy and I see me. She can spend endless hours painting and cutting paper. I helped her sew a dress for one of her dolls, and I can tell she is going catch the sewing bug. That is, of course, as soon as I feel brave enough to give her free reign of a needle and tread.

I have been thinking of creative gifts to give to my kids this season and with Katy I am loving the idea of getting some creative books to help her get excited about making and creating her own things. Hopefully we can find ways to unplug more and get creative.

So for her birthday and Christmas I am going to get these books, look through them, find my favorite ideas, and box it up with all the supplies to create a few of the projects contained within. I know she is going to go gaga over them. It's probably just as much of a gift for me as it will be for Katy.

life's full of surprises

The circus arrives without warning...and sometimes, so do babies. 

I can hardly believe that we will be drafting another player for Team Beardshall, but this circus is set to perform January 5th. And with my track record (of having babies early), this poor kiddo is probably going to have a Christmas birthday. 

Sometimes unexpected surprises are the best kind. I can honestly say I am very excited to meet this kiddo, but I'm a bit scared to be outnumbered. I'm also anxious to see how our family dynamic will change. I can only imagine good things are in store for us. 

iphonography . never stop exploring

Will will always be my little dare devil, okay...he may have convinced me to help him up on the ledge of the basement window...but can you blame me? His "peease" and "geee you" are killing me lately!

Family Pictures 2013

Steve always gives me a hard time about getting our pictures taken, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, really, look at my family...I'm so in love. When I booked these pictures I was not planning on having them fall the day we moved (which was a Thursday), lucky for me they were able to reschedule them to Saturday morning (back in August of last year). Unlucky for me, we still didn't know where anything was and were living out of boxes. I pretty much decided the best option for us would be to go ahead and let everyone just wear what they wanted to. Will didn't seem to have much of an opinion about things so he let me dress him.

I have a bucket list of photographers I would like to capture my family, and Yan Palmer is one of them. She gave me a big hug when we met (I am SO a huggie person) so that won me over right away. She was so great with my kids and I am so in love with all of the images I now have of my family.

Here are some of my favorites...in no particular order .

progress

We have a long way to go in the settling in process. The thing I love about being in this house is the fact that here is no plan to go anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I joke Steve can bury me in the backyard because I can see us here for the rest of forever. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to ever moving again if it was because of an incredible opportunity. 

With that being said, I feel like I'm more invested in making this a house I want to be in. I don't mind spending a bit of money to do some decorating. Decorating for me and what I like, and not necessarily because it will be good for resale value. 

This house works for us in the now, and also has so much potential for the big ideas rolling around in our head. Wow, we get new ideas every day....so it will be interesting to see what will happen over the years. 

I love how the light comes into this home. In the morning it makes shadows on my walls, and we have a stellar view of the sunset every night. 

This "nook" in the kitchen is where we originally placed our table. It stuck out weird so we decided to make it a computer nook. This is a cheap computer desk we got at ikea one time. It actually survived the accident we were in on the freeway when someone side swiped us. I'd like to get something more fitting for that area, but it works for now.

I painted the chalkboard calendar about a week after we moved in. It's funny there is a desk there now, because that is pretty much the perfect pairing.



I still have some things I'd like to do with the front room. I was pretty set on the idea that I didn't want a TV in the front room. I put my record player in the second "cubby" down. Sometimes you have to compromise, though, and Steve won that battle....thus the TV is sitting there triumphantly.

We didn't have enough furniture to fill this place so had to make some purchases. These couches in the front room were on sale at Ikea. I am such a sucker for corduroy, but I would no recommend having black couches. THEY SHOW EVERYTHING! We will have to get some other covers, but for now we might as well use them.

Steve is always hilarious when we have moved in the past about wanting to get unpacked and hang everything up the first night we are there. I am more of the mindset that it's a good idea to get a feel for the place before you start hammering nails in everything.

Lucky for me the picture wall worked out, because we put that up the second day we were here. It's one of my favorite places. I catch Will over there naming everyone in the pictures and looking at all of them. It's so fun to see how we have all changed over the years.



Steve had to go out of town back last October. Painting is not one of Steve's favorite things to do....and I could only imagine that stripes would have put him over the top. Lucky for me, when I texted him a picture of the finished product, he was a fan.

Since Katy is such an artist lately (and Will's catching on now too), I decided to add an area we could add and keep more of her art up. She loves walking up and down the hall and noticing all of the masterpieces she and Will have created.

Like I said, not a finished product for sure...as I have already rearranged this place 10 times...but its a good jumping off point.

Source List
Kitchen Table / This was thrifted from the DI. While I like it in the space, I'd sure love to make a table like this for my christmas gift this year.
Couch and Chair / Ikea
Hanging plant holder / Ikea
Plants / All of the plants came from my favorite nursery J&J Gardens
Dresser in front room / I found this gem on KSL.com classifieds. It was exactly what I was looking for the space, meant to be for sure.
Ottomans / Lofgrens...one of my favorite stores that a good friend of Steve's own.
Cushions / Ikea and Vickny
Rug and Curtains / Ikea
Mirror / Ikea
Beckoning Cat / Chinatown, San Francisco. We got this last year we were there, but didn't have time to look around too long. I have always wanted one since our first year of marriage when Steve wouldn't pay more than 5 dollars to park so we had to walk from our baseball game at Giant's stadium to Pier 39 where we were going on a night tour of Alcatraz. We cut through China Town on our way and I said I would get one but forgot.
Records / This is a collection from Great Grandma and Grandpa Beardshall and my mom. It has been such a blast to listen to these.